Principal’s Message

Safety Procedures Letter, October 2018

This letter is to provide a summary of the Department of Education’s Emergency Readiness Initiatives that are in place in all NYC Public Schools. Every school currently has procedures for emergencies. In 2000, New York State Education Law Section 2801 was enacted requiring schools to develop safety plans regarding emergency response. In July of 2001, the law was amended to require that plans include information for evacuation and sheltering. In accordance with this, “schools need to conduct drills and other exercises to test components of the emergency response plan.”

School staff members are trained in various procedures that are outlined in the School Safety Plan and we currently conduct a variety of drills throughout the year to prepare our staff and students. Section 807 of the New York State Education Law requires all schools to conduct a minimum of 12 emergency drills each year. This past week, we held our first evacuation drill (of the 8 required) and will be holding our first lockdown drill (of the 4 required) during this upcoming week. Section 917 of the State Education Law states that schools are required to provide and maintain automated external defibrillator (AED) equipment, and drills are conducted during the year to assess the use of AED units in an emergency. In accordance with Section 3623 of the State Education Law, drills are also conducted at schools that focus on safety on a school bus.

In addition to conducting these types of drills, our school has a Building Response Team that is trained to activate and respond to different incidents that may occur at our school. Under the new General Response Protocol (GRP), every school will be conducting specific drills designed to help prepare all school communities for three different types of response to emergencies that may occur: evacuation, shelter-in, and lockdown. Parent versions of the School Safety Plan are available upon request in the main office, and information explaining the GRP is included with this letter. Many other important resources for families are also available here.

Emergency readiness training in schools takes place in September and continues for staff and students throughout the school year. Student training is grade appropriate and designed to ensure that students understand the importance of these drills without causing unnecessary alarm.

All families are reminded to update the Emergency Contact Information with teachers and in our main office (as well as the online links that you completed at the beginning of the school year). This includes providing and updating information with regard to phone numbers and the names of adults to whom the school may release children in an emergency. Please keep in mind that PS 29 Plus (our after school program) has its own system for emergency contacts and pick-up information. Thus, if your child participates in this program, you must notify PS 29 Plus directly about any changes. Finally, families are also encouraged to register with Notify NYC (https://a858-nycnotify.nyc.gov/notifynyc/) to receive information about emergency events, and call 311 for additional information about a school during an emergency.